TimR

Legally, all mechanically propelled vehicles (including mobility scootters) should be on the road unless they're doing less than 4mph.

The point is people are unpredictable. If you slow down and warn them of your presence well in advance, they won't suddenly decide to veer off in an unexpected direction when they suddenly become aware of something behind them. It happens to me a lot when out running and I run slowly. People still jump out of their skins unless I call out well in advance.

If you have a passive bass, there's not a lot of complex electronics to be afraid of inside. The pots are very cheap and if you destroy one, you can just buy another. They key things are getting someone to explain how the wiring diagram relates to the real world elements and practicing how to solder. Active are more complex but the advice would usually be just to swap out the board. It's worth opening up just to see what plugs in where.

Yes. The guitarist in the band told me I should get it done where he gets his done. As it would be much better. He then spent 3 practices complaining about how badly his guitar had been set up. I pulled all the frets from a bass in the 80s and filled the slots with polyfilla. I guess some people are just more able to handle handy tasks. I have friends unable to put up shelves or curtain poles and I have other friends who can change gearboxes and cylinder head gaskets, and piston rings on cars.

Actually, even that gig has a story attached... 😆

I played a gig where 'the bass player from the Kinks' was also playing in his band. So I had a bit of a chat with him. Then a few weeks later played at a party where the 'bass player from the Kinks' was in attendance. He'd changed quite a bit in such a short time.

And everyone has played that wedding where no matter what tunes you play, no one dances and they just all stare at the band and clap after each song... Haven't they? With the only 3 people on the dancfloor two toddlers and a teenage boy racing up and down and skidding on his knees.

Ha yes. Played one wedding where we were packing down and then the screaming and shouting started. One of the female guests accused another of 'nicking the cancer tin' which all the guests had been making donations instead of buying gifts. Apparently the guest was always nothing but trouble and out thieving. Hair being pulled, names being called. We tried to load out while the men tried to calm it all down. Then someone appears from out back and asks what's going on. "Oh, I've got the tin, I took it for safe keeping"

Far too many. The one that sticks in my mind was a function band doing a 50 birthday party/wedding anniversary. Big posh meal, black tie and the band had been given a table with wine and food. The first dance was Moon River, which had been the couples first dance. A waltz in 3/4. Drummer had really struggled to learn with 3/4 as he was from a rock background (don't ask). After he and the guitarist had drunk plenty of wine. We took to the stage and he counted in 1,2,3,4 and launched into a straight 4, which somehow the guitarist managed to stay in time with. The singer struggled to get any lyrics to fit in any bar. How the couple managed to dance I'll never know. Later on we played a song that had a bass intro, there had been various emails rattling around in the week where the singer had asked if we could play it in a different key as she was really struggling. No firm consensus was made. Needless to say I came in in the key that we'd been playing it in for about 3 years, slowly joined by the keys player, prodding around looking for the right notes and then the guitarist (still under the effects of wine came crashing in on some random key. Note to others, play as rehearsed and don't make untested changes via a long email trail, that not everyone may have read... We finished the night on New York New York. At about 180bpm... 😆

Tell that to Townsend. 😆

"John's bass sound was like a Messiaen organ. Every note, every harmonic in the sky. When he passed away and I did the first few shows without him, with Pino [Palladino] on bass, he was playing without all that stuff... I said, ‘Wow, I have a job.' "With Keith, my job was keeping time, because he didn't do that. So when he passed away, it was like, ‘Oh, I don't have to keep time anymore.'" https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/pete_townshend_says_thank_god_entwistle__moon_are_gone_talks_what_was_wrong_with_their_playing.html

Wasn't this a deliberate act from Townsend who had been trying for years to get Entwistle to calm down so he could play lead guitar?

I'm now wondering how many bassists would turn down playing with The Who because they considered it boring.

The other consideration is if you're doing a long multi venue demanding tour, you're going to need a load of pretty much identical instruments. Sometimes they'll have 2 sets of stage rigging and leap frog through countries using different gear each night. Steve Harris has dozens of Fender P Basses.

It's usually because sound engineers have lots of experience of recording industry standard basses and know what works. They probably don't want to be messing around trying to get a sound that sits in the mix. I'm sure I've heard stories where, after much struggling to get a decent sound, producers have gone off and come back with a Fender Precision and asked the artist to play that instead.

I suspect this is because Mamma Mia the West End show was part written by Benny and Bjorn, and ABBA Mania seem to be promoting themselves as the original and premier West End ABBA production.

It is. Hence the diminishing returns.

Pino is quite selective though. https://mixdownmag.com.au/features/columns/gear-rundown-pino-palladino/

Of course there's an objective test. For example. If you have a tuner that slips every now and again because you bought a bass with cheap hardwear, then the instrument is taking your time up getting right. And you'll put a price on that time. If you're in a session and spending time tuning that's costing everyone money because you thought you could save initially. There's a direct relation to the price you paid and the amount of maintenance. I've had hardware fail at a gig. Luckily I've had a spare bass. But the replacement hardware I bought is more expensive, better quality and more durable.

Yes. Sure. But it would have been in someone's price range. So the law of diminishing returns affects how much a individual is willing to pay for an instrument. But not the other way round. And yes, sound, playability, etc are all factors.

Not really. That doesn't really enter into it. The diminishing returns happen regardless of what you're willing to pay. The point at which the step up to the next one is worthwhile is one factor that might determine what you'll pay. I know anything over £2,500 I can't tell the difference. Doesn't mean there isn't one. It would be pointless me paying £3,500 for a bass. In fact I don't want to spend more than £500 on a bass. That's because I'm happy with a £500 bass, it does the job and I like the ergonomics. That's not because I can't afford a £3,500 or am not willing to pay that. I just don't need to.

That's the question though isn't it. What is the relationship, as the basses get more expensive, the amount you have to pay to get a small difference is greater. But by how much.

The law of diminishing returns isn't about whether an expensive instrument is better than a cheap one. It's about how much better it is. Is a £250 bass 10x better than a £25 one. If not, how much better is it? If it is, is a £350 one 14x better than the £25 one and 1.4x better than the £250 one. And by logical extension is a £2500 one 100x better? In order to quantify it, you need to set some parameters rather than, "I like this one better." which is entirely subjective.

Yes. But it's turnover that they look at. If I do 20 gigs at £50 I don't have to tell the taxman. If I do 20 gigs at £250, my turnover is now £5000 and I'm supposed to then go self assessment. The fact I'm instantly giving out £4000 is irrelevant. They want to see where that £4000 has gone. To stay within the tax laws. Ultimately there's no profit and no tax to pay, but that's not the point. I doubt many hobby players are going self assessed anyway.

Yes. But it's instant. If I buy a beer, the pub doesn't send an invoice to my home address and ask to be paid within 28 days.